Health Bill

Amendment No. 60 concerns sanctions. If the code of practice is to have effect, it is not only important that those involved in its implementation and development can see the benefits of good practice, but also that it carries some weight, with sanctions, if it is to achieve its proper place in a trust’s priorities. In another place, the Secretary of State said:"““It will establish a statutory code of practice, improved inspection arrangements and, as a last resort, appropriate sanctions in both the NHS and the independent sector””.—[Official Report, Commons, 24/5/05; col. 574.]" However, the code and the Bill make no mention of sanctions. I do not wish to go over the various ways in which guidance and standards do or do not have legal authority, but it is rather strange that a body that could be charged, were it to fail to uphold certain elements of health and safety legislation that could impact indirectly on patient care, would have to face sanctions for that but not for this. That said, I am not particularly suggesting that sanctions are any more likely to make a code of practice effective, rather than having the means or resources to implement it. But it seems rather strange that we are going to impose the responsibility for developing all this good practice on trusts, particularly on board members, and yet there seems to be complete silence about what happens if they fail to do so.